Emirates May Quit African Cities Over Dollar Debts From Low Oil

Nigeria, other states withholding payments to foreign airlines CEO says ‘not a good idea’ to carry on serving offender states Persian Gulf airline Emirates said it could scrap flights to African locations as economies there falter following the oil-price collapse and governments withhold ticket revenues to shore up foreign currency reserves. The biggest carrier on international routes may “cut frequencies and possibly even cities” amid the currency crunch and commercial difficulties in some markets, President Tim Clark said Tuesday in Dubai, where Emirates is based. “Certain African countries have seen their currency really go down, it’s not a very good idea to continue there,” Clark said in a briefing at an International Air Transport Association event. “We are reflecting on a number of those.” Nigeria alone owed Emirates $680 million as of early September, Clark has said previously, with carriers including United Airlines and Spain’s Iberia having already halted […]